SPAA 2007: attendees learn how to get into sports photography, expand product lines, and make sales pitches.

SPAA 07 sessions stress photo technique, sales, equipment, ethical business practices and more. Three speakers share here what they will cover. To view the full schedule, visit www.pmai.org/pma07/spaa.

Catching the action

Ray Smith, president of Action Images Sports Photography, Wellsburg, W.Va., will explain how action sports photography can make an excellent add-on service for team portrait photographers in the "Sports Action Photography Tutorial" on March 9.

"I'll be going into lens selection, game coverage, short depth-of-field techniques, and specific types of shots we teach our photographers."

Smith says when hiring, he looks for photographers with solid newspaper experience. "I pay close attention to newspapers, and look for photographers who are good all-round photojournalists and exceptional sports photographers."

Newspapers routinely publish no more than a few game photos, so they must look at catching the best peak action.

"They must also photograph the players warming up, or a player in the lane waiting to make a rebound from a foul shot," he explains. "We look for intensity, interaction between players, interaction between coaches, and player celebration photos after the game."

Action Images Sports Photography shoots both high-school leagues and youth leagues.

"We try to network as much as possible in our marketing efforts," Smith says. "Seasons often overlap, and many parents have kids playing different sports. So it isn't as if we had to approach different parents for each sport."

Smith shares this tutorial with Ben Chen of Sports Pixel, Glendora, Calif.

Product potential

Richard Stevens, president MAGco Sports Photo Products, Newark, Ohio, will discuss different ways in which sports photographers can use products other than prints to augment their sales in the "Youth Photography Tutorial" on March 8.

"I'll also be talking about packaging and shipping," says Stevens. "Photographers traditionally like to use small, concise shipping boxes, and want to do everything themselves, even when products have very small margins."

This results in photographers passing up potentially profitable products because they think it's too difficult and time consuming to package them. Digital technology has changed all this.

"Let's say you shoot 1,000 kids' pictures. You can upload those images to our FTP site, then go to our drop-ship site, and enter the names and addresses where you want each statuette to be shipped.

"Turnaround time is typically 48 hours to 72 hours in-plant," Stevens says, "and then ship them to the soccer moms. Often, they will arrive faster than playing cards and other photo products.

The sales pitch

John Pittman, president of Sport Stars Inc., opened his studio 28 years ago, and now has 18 photographers in the field. He has seen many changes, especial in digital technology.

Implicit in a photographer's ability to give a successful sales presentation is the ability to find the people in charge. Catch Pittman's session, "It's All in the Presentation," on March 9.

"The computer has made some aspects of the business easier," Pittman says. His studio has grown to 18 photographers, though his sales efforts concentrate on a 60-mile maximum radius from home. Extending marketing efforts beyond that radius is an iffy proposition.

Unlike school photography, where the photographer deals with a principal or superintendent, the decision makers for youth sports photography could be meeting in someone's basement, the firehouse, a restaurant--virtually anywhere. The group often consists of volunteer parents.

"Many new sports photographers don't know what to say to get a foot in the door," Pittman says. "That's what my session is about--and the fact many people making the decisions are ignorant about the business."

"League officers--or whatever their titles--often don't ask photographers basic questions such as if they are able to handle 2,000 to 3,000 kids."

"This happened to me a couple years ago," Pittman says. "I lost a big account, and the photographer they chose turned Photo Day into a complete disaster. They came back to me the following year."

According to Pittman, the sports photography business needs a way to show decision makers they are fully qualified to handle the photography for their leagues.